Newspaper Article Archive of
West Seattle Herald

UPDATE: Opens tonight, July 15

West Seattle actress Hollis Heron is set to portray “Mad Margaret” in the lesser-known but highly melodramatic Gilbert & Sullivan opera Ruddigore at the Bagley Wright Theatre, Seattle Center opening July 15. The Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society presents the show.

“Gilbert and Sullivan is mostly farce,” said Heron, who has performed with the Society on and off since 2000. “Actually I didn't know about the genre at all until I auditioned for The Yeomen of the Guard. I just auditioned for it on a lark. To be honest it's my favorite show. Musically the most operatic of all of the stories they’ve written and the story is dark which is very different.

“I really like Ruddigore. It's an interesting, whole idea. If you're familiar with the Pirates of Penzance, (H.M.S.) Pinafore, and Mikado that are all the palatable mass appeal shows, those three shows are just silly. The circumstances, the characters are really contrived. This show does have some flavor of contriving. What I like about the character I'm playing, Mad Margaret, her circumstances are pretty real, and I can play her real instead of playing her the farce.”

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